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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

The 635/594 color disputes...

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Ok, I have to bring this up, it's been bugging me for awhile.

The colors in question here in particular are 635 and 594.

Apparently, I see colors of lasers differently than everyone here, but people I show my lasers to generally seem to think along the same lines as me as to the colors of my lasers.

To my eyes, 594 is unquestionably yellow, and 635 is a dark, very reddish orange, but still orange. I'm beginning to think the reason they look like this to me is because I like to use and look at my lasers with the lights on. I've noticed that when the lights are out, my 635 looks orangy red, and the 594 looks very orangy, like amber.

Could the reason I see the colors on these wavelenghts differently than everyone else, and the reason I consider them to be different colors, is because I prefer to use photopic vision, where most people here look at them in the dark, thereby using scotopic vision? Because I've noticed that the colors look like how everyone says when it's dark, ie 635= bright red, 594= amber; but since I prefer to look at them in the light, could that be why I see things different than most of you?

It's been bothering me for awhile, and perspective is the only reason I could come up with why these lasers' colors look different to me and some other people than they do to the rest of you....

Thoughts?
 





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635nm for me in daylight is borderline red/orange for me. In daylight you can pretty easily tell that it is orangish.\

I've never seen 594nm before so I don't know what to call it. ;D Now I have seen burning sodium which is about 589nm, and that looked pretty yellow to me, it did have an orange tint to it though.
 

Ace82

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There should be no disputes with the numbers...

But for the terminology, I guess can be relative.  

another question...

Have you heard the term "blu(e)-ray"?  Why not call it "violet-ray", or "purple-ray"?

473-405=68nm difference

635-594=41nm difference


473nm=blue
405nm=purple
635nm=RED-orange
594nm=ORANGE-red

So, its all a matter of what we choose to call one color or another, unless we are color blind and seriously can't tell any difference.  
 

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daguin

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Ace82 said:
Have you heard the term "blu(e)-ray"? Why not call it "violet-ray", or "purple-ray"?

Unfortunately, we did not "name" this one. It is not "blu[highlight](e)[/highlight]-ray" It is "blu-ray" "Blu-ray" is a trade name, that was created by the manufacturers of the DVD format. If WE get involved with the "naming", it should just be a "violet" (like a green or red) laser or a 405nm laser. It is NOT an "anything"-[highlight]ray[/highlight] laser

Peaec,
dave
 
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Violet - not purple. Purple is a mix of red and blue wavelengths, just like pink or magenta.
 
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I think 635nm looks would be far more orange it if packed some power. If you take 635nm and point it at a wall in daylight and just shake it all over the wall its really orange. When you are in the dark you pick up the darker red color easier than the orange because your pupils are dilated. That's my theory
 
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Ace82 said:
There should be no disputes with the numbers...

But for the terminology, I guess can be relative.

another question...

Have you heard the term "blu(e)-ray"? Why not call it "violet-ray", or "purple-ray"?

473-405=68nm difference

635-594=41nm difference


473nm=blue
405nm=purple
635nm=RED-orange
594nm=ORANGE-red

So, its all a matter of what we choose to call one color or another, unless we are color blind and seriously can't tell any difference.

I could see how some people would call 635 red, and I'm relieved to see that my preffered view of these lasers is due to how I like to look at them.

However, one thing is certain, 594 has NOTHING to do with red! It's borderline amber in the dark and completely yellow in the light.
 

Ace82

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FireMyLaser said:
Violet - not purple. Purple is a mix of red and blue wavelengths, just like pink or magenta.

Didn’t know that…


daguin said:
[quote author=Ace82 link=1218215000/0#2 date=1218218100]Have you heard the term "blu(e)-ray"? Why not call it "violet-ray", or "purple-ray"?

Unfortunately, we did not "name" this one. It is not "blu[highlight](e)[/highlight]-ray" It is "blu-ray" "Blu-ray" is a trade name, that was created by the manufacturers of the DVD format. If WE get involved with the "naming", it should just be a "violet" (like a green or red) laser or a 405nm laser. It is NOT an "anything"-[highlight]ray[/highlight] laser

Peaec,
dave[/quote]

Awe yes… the “Blu-ray” gets a special name. +1 for wisdom



quadcam said:
I could see how some people would call 635 red, and I'm relieved to see that my preffered view of these lasers is due to how I like to look at them.

However, one thing is certain, 594 has NOTHING to do with red! It's borderline amber in the dark and completely yellow in the light.

Yes, I thought about that after the post but didn’t feel like editing again. I think 594 is true ORANGE.
 
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Also, remember diode lasers can vary in the wavelength they emit by quite a bit. Some of the 405nm laser data sheets quote the wavelength as 405 +/- 5nm. So, it could come from the manufacturer and pass every quality control they have, and all they guarantee is that it's between 400 and 410 nm. The same ios true of 635, 650, etc, although I don't think it's to the same degree. Ie, I think the 635, 650 lasers are a more mature technology, that is now much better understood and made with a material that is much more controllable, so the tolerances are closer, but still not perfect. Temperature and power output both also change the wavelength output of a diode laser by quite a bit, as well.
 
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daguin said:
[quote author=Ace82 link=1218215000/0#2 date=1218218100]Have you heard the term "blu(e)-ray"?  Why not call it "violet-ray", or "purple-ray"?

Unfortunately, we did not "name" this one.  It is not "blu[highlight](e)[/highlight]-ray"  It is "blu-ray"  "Blu-ray" is a trade name, that was created by the manufacturers of the DVD format.  If WE get involved with the "naming", it should just be a "violet" (like a green or red) laser or a 405nm laser.  It is NOT an "anything"-[highlight]ray[/highlight] laser

Peaec,
dave[/quote]
True. Blu-Ray is nothing but a brand name. Funny thing is, we still call the PHR-803T "blu-ray" when it is in fact from an HD DVD drive. Damned semantics. Just like Band-Aids is a brand name, the proper name of the item is "adhesive strips."
 
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I wish I could say I could see the difference between 635 and something in the 650 to 670 range. I have two good lasers that are ~635nm. The two I have that aren't 635nm run off of crappy button cells so they aren't that bright.


HumanSymphony said:
[quote author=daguin link=1218215000/0#3 date=1218218988][quote author=Ace82 link=1218215000/0#2 date=1218218100]Have you heard the term "blu(e)-ray"?  Why not call it "violet-ray", or "purple-ray"?

Unfortunately, we did not "name" this one.  It is not "blu[highlight](e)[/highlight]-ray"  It is "blu-ray"  "Blu-ray" is a trade name, that was created by the manufacturers of the DVD format.  If WE get involved with the "naming", it should just be a "violet" (like a green or red) laser or a 405nm laser.  It is NOT an "anything"-[highlight]ray[/highlight] laser

Peaec,
dave[/quote]
True. Blu-Ray is nothing but a brand name. Funny thing is, we still call the PHR-803T "blu-ray" when it is in fact from an HD DVD drive. Damned semantics. Just like Band-Aids is a brand name, the proper name of the item is "adhesive strips."[/quote]

I always found it interesting that people keep calling BR/Blu-Ray instead of 405nm/violet. I've probably been one of the few that actually called it 405nm or violet. Part of it might be the fact that I can't stand Sony or Blu-Ray. I wish HD-DVD would've kick BRs ass. It would've been nice to see another one of Sony's crap formats lose.
 

Benm

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Also, remember diode lasers can vary in the wavelength they emit by quite a bit.

For the diode lasers, you are right. 594, 532 and such are based on solid state lasers (followed by nonlinear optics) and are always dead on in terms of wavelength. Temperature has some effect, but thats neglible.


As for 594 being yellow or orange: your perception could differ with ambient light. Not only the amount of ambient light, but also its color temperature. You might, for example, judge the color differently on a sunny and a cloudy day.

On a sunny day the color temperature of other light sources is percieved higher ('cooler'), this applies to everything ranging from fluorescent tubes to TV screens.

It could be something with your eyes, but i dont think that is likely if you have otherwise normal color vision. One way to tell is comparing your judgement of what color something is with that of others in the same viewing conditions.
 
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To me, 635nm diode is red-orange and 593.5nm DPSS is orange-yellow. If you pull any random person off the street, show them each laser, and ask them what color, I'll bet good money an overwhelming majority would feel 635nm is red and 593.5nm is orange. When you look at it all in the spectrum though, it makes sense that 593.5nm is considered yellow at times.

And remember, calling 473nm blue or 660nm red may be a bit of a narrow minded laserist view. I've seen many a source quote 700nm for the wavelength of "red" and 440nm as "blue". At 405-410nm blu-ray lasers are violet or perhaps even near-UV depending on how you want to look at it. Its important to remember that these are relatively arbitrary designations and there's no standardized definition.

I gotta say though, the wavelenth/color relationships mentioned on this site seem to match up the best with my opinions at least: http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/EDDOCS/Wavelengths_for_Colors.html
(IE ~475nm for blue, ~510nm for green, ~570nm for yellow, ~590nm for orange and ~650nm for red)
 

Benm

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On the red end of the spectrum, anything beyond 640 nm or so is just 'red', but things get less visible at longer wavelengths.

I'd say 594 is more orange than yellow, but that migth be a matter of taste ;)
 
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pseudonomen137 said:
To me, 635nm diode is red-orange and 593.5nm DPSS is orange-yellow. If you pull any random person off the street, show them each laser, and ask them what color, I'll bet good money an overwhelming majority would feel 635nm is red and 593.5nm is orange. When you look at it all in the spectrum though, it makes sense that 593.5nm is considered yellow at times.

And remember, calling 473nm blue or 660nm red may be a bit of a narrow minded laserist view. I've seen many a source quote 700nm for the wavelength of "red" and 440nm as "blue". At 405-410nm blu-ray lasers are violet or perhaps even near-UV depending on how you want to look at it. Its important to remember that these are relatively arbitrary designations and there's no standardized definition.

I gotta say though, the wavelenth/color relationships mentioned on this site seem to match up the best with my opinions at least: http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/EDDOCS/Wavelengths_for_Colors.html
(IE ~475nm for blue, ~510nm for green, ~570nm for yellow, ~590nm for orange and ~650nm for red)

The only thing I don't like about that is that it quotes 590 as orange, then says 589 is yellow. Granted, that may be the actual barrier between orange and yellow, but it should have more than 1nm to separate "true orange" from yellow. Ideally, it should be about 610 for true orange.
 




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